PHYSICS
PROJECT
TO FIND REFRACTIVE INDEX
OF THE MATERIAL OF PRISM
BY:
S. DENIKA - XII A
R. MANIMOZHI - XII A
[Link] VARSHINI - XII A
[Link] SUNITHA - XII A
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Acknowledgement
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SPECTROMETER
AIM:
To find the refractive index of the material of the prism.
MATERIALS REQUIRED:
1. A Spectrometer
2. A Sodium Vapor lamp
3. An Equilateral Glass Prism
4. Magnifying Lens
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THEORY:
REFRACTION OF LIGHT
The phenomenon of change in path of light as it goes from one
medium to another having different optical density is called
refraction of light.
When a ray travels from a denser medium to rarer medium
refracted ray bends away from the normal as shown in the figure
below.
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LAWS OF REFRACTION
i. The incident ray, normal to the refracting surface at the point of
incidence and the refracted ray all lie in the same plane.
ii. Snell’s law: Ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence, to the sine
of the angle of refraction is a constant for two given media
and the given colour of light.
Where n12 is the refractive index of the second medium with
respect to the first medium.
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SPECTROMETER
A Spectrometer is an optical instrument to obtain and study pure
spectrum.
It is also used to produce and study the spectra of luminous
bodies and determining the refractive index of solids and liquids in the
form of prism. It has the following parts:
Collimator:
It consists of two coaxial tubes, such that one tube can be made to
slide inside the other with the help of rack and pinion
arrangement. The sliding tube has an adjustable vertical slit at one
end, while the other tube fixed to the arm of spectrometer carries an
achromatic lens.
The distance of the slit from the convex lens is adjusted with the
help of rack and pinion arrangement, so that the slit lies at the focus
of the lens. When the source of light is placed in front of the slit,
the light from the lens will come out as parallel beam.
Telescope:
An astronomical telescope having Rams den’s eye piece is
mounted horizontally on another arm of the spectrometer
capable of rotating about a vertical axis passing through the center
of the prism table. The telescope is attached to a circular graduated
in degrees.
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When telescope is rotated, the circular scale also rotates. The
telescope can be clamped in any position with the help of a screw
called locking screw. For:
Prism Table:
It is a horizontal circular plate on which the prism can be
placed. The prism table can be placed high or low and
clamped in any position with the help of a screw called
tangent screw. It can also be rotated about a vertical axis
through its center. The Vernier’s provided on the opposite sides
of the diameter of the circular scale move with the prism table. The
position of the prism table can be noted accurately with the help of
the Vernier’s.
It may be pointed out that the horizontal axis of the collimator and
the telescope pass through the vertical axis of the prism table.
Uses:
It can be used to find the refractive index of the material of the
prism. The refractive index of a liquid can also be found by
making use of a hollow glass prism.
It can be used to find the dispersive power of the material
of the prism.
A Spectrometer can be used to obtain pure spectrum.
With the help of a diffraction grating, a spectrometer can be used
to find the wavelength of the monochromatic light.
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SODIUM VAPOUR LAMP
It is the source of monochromatic light. The word
monochromatic means having only single wavelength.
It is nearly monochromatic in the sense that it consists of two nearly
equal wavelengths. It consists of a U shaped discharge tube. T1,
having two tungsten electrodes, E1 and E2, fused at its ends. Neon gas
at a pressure of about 10mm Hg is filled in the discharge tube and
some specks of sodium are deposited on the sides of the wall. The tube
T1 is surrounded by another double walled tube which is evacuated to
reduce the heat losses from inside. An auto leak transformer is
connected across electrodes
E1 and E2.
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PROCEDURE:
THE ADJUSTMENT OF THE SPECTROMETER:
1. Adjustment of the eye piece:
The telescope is turned towards the white wall and the position of the
eye piece is adjusted to get a clear image of the cross wire.
2. Adjustment of the telescope:
The telescope is turned to a distant object and the screw of the
telescope is adjusted to get the clear image of the distant object.
3. Adjustment of the collimator:
Locking through the telescope the screw of the collimator is
adjusted to obtain a clear image of the slit.
4. Leveling of the prism:
Prism table is leveled with the help of the spirit level by
adjusting the leveling screws of the prism table.
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EXPERIMENT TO DETERMINE THE ANGLE OF PRISM:
After making the preliminary adjustments the prism is mounted on the
prism table with the refracting edge vertical. The slit is illuminated.
Prism table is rotated so that the rays of the light coming out of the
collimator fall symmetrically on the two faces of the prism AB and
AC. Now telescope is turned and adjusted to get a clear slit formed by
the reflection of the light from the two faces AB and AC. The reading
of the Vernier is noted. The difference between the readings of the
same Vernier gives the twice the angle of the prism. From this the
angle of the prism A
is determined.
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EXPERIMENT TO DETERMINE THE ANGLE OF
MINIMUM DEVIATION:
The telescope is turned to view the refracted image. Looking
through the telescope the prism table is slowly rotated in the
direction of the decreasing angle of deviation i.e. the prism table is
fixed in the position where the image becomes stationary for a moment
and turns back. The prism table is fixed in the position.
Telescope is also fixed in this position. The readings of the
Vernier’s are taken. The prism is removed. The readings of the
Vernier’s are again noted. The difference in the readings of the same
Vernier gives the angle of minimum deviation. Now the refractive
index of the material of the prism is calculated using the formula:
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REFRACTION THROUGH A PRISM:
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OBSERVATION:
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CALCULATION:
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PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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